Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Has $7.58 Million Position in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK)

Key Points

• Empirical Wealth Management has reduced its stake in BlackRock by 50.9%, selling 8,289 shares to hold a total of 8,011 shares valued at approximately $7.58 million.
• Several hedge funds have increased their positions in BlackRock, including GAMMA Investing LLC, which saw a dramatic increase of 104,598.9%, acquiring over 3.5 million shares.
• BlackRock announced a quarterly dividend of $5.21 per share, with a yield of 1.87%, to be paid on September 23rd to shareholders of record.

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management decreased its position in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 50.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,011 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 8,289 shares during the quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management's holdings in BlackRock were worth $7,582,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in BlackRock by 104,598.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,500,083 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $3,312,759,000 after purchasing an additional 3,496,740 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in BlackRock by 401.5% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,095,241 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,122,743,000 after acquiring an additional 876,836 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth about $572,730,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 18.6% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,100,163 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $2,152,907,000 after buying an additional 329,244 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 20.6% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,591,716 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,631,684,000 after buying an additional 272,176 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Rachel Lord sold 18,036 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,125.60, for a total value of $20,301,321.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 19,205 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,617,148. This represents a 48.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Laurence Fink sold 14,828 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,122.28, for a total transaction of $16,641,167.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 263,751 shares of the company's stock, valued at $296,002,472.28. This trade represents a 5.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 66,494 shares of company stock valued at $74,694,573. Corporate insiders own 1.98% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on BLK shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,180.00 to $1,170.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Argus reissued a "buy" rating on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,214.00 to $1,224.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $1,115.00 target price on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,247.00 to $1,224.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,151.21.

BlackRock Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of NYSE BLK traded down $14.72 during trading on Friday, reaching $1,091.29. 672,794 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 646,030. The business's 50-day moving average price is $1,040.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $981.44. BlackRock has a twelve month low of $773.74 and a twelve month high of $1,130.66. The company has a quick ratio of 4.34, a current ratio of 4.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The company has a market capitalization of $169.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.42.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $12.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $10.41 by $1.64. BlackRock had a net margin of 29.68% and a return on equity of 15.83%. The company had revenue of $5.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $10.36 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a $5.21 dividend. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.39%.

About BlackRock

BlackRock, Inc is a publicly owned investment manager. The firm primarily provides its services to institutional, intermediary, and individual investors including corporate, public, union, and industry pension plans, insurance companies, third-party mutual funds, endowments, public institutions, governments, foundations, charities, sovereign wealth funds, corporations, official institutions, and banks.